A New Look at Abraham Lincoln

Nov 10 2008

The new media of the times has always affected how presidents (and others) reach out to the public.

Internet communication played an important role in the 2008 presidential campaign. If candidates didn't start their run for the office with a strong web presence, the success of president-elect Barack Obama's online outreach led other contenders to re-examine its usefulness. Current statistics from an October 31 Pew Research Center article compare the internet as a major source of campaign news with other media.

Many of the images are familiar; Lincoln realized that photographs were a way of maintaining a public presence, and the exhibit demonstrates how media technology of the 19th century began to enable this process. As the caption accompanying the 1861 Alexander Gardner photograph states, "Although Lincoln knew, and joked about, the fact that he was a difficult subject, he was not camera-shy, producing a continuous portrait record of his time in office. Attuned to public opinion, Lincoln used portraits to keep himself in the eye of his fellow citizens." The exhibit leads to analysis of how he did this and what the images reveal.

Covering more than presidential campaigns, the 31 images of Lincoln, 18571865, in the gallery exhibit are reproduced in the web exhibit as well as additional photographs of Lincoln's contemporaries. Accompanying text and excerpts from Lincoln's speeches and writings caption the images, including Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner photographs.

Six downloadable mp3 files from prominent scholars discuss the portraits, their artistic presentation, and the events they commemorate. The audio files are also available via cell phone for visitors to the exhibition.

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